Watching your children grow up
As a father of two college age sons I am going through an interesting stage. They are still my sons, always will be, but they are also becoming more than that. In a sense, I am becoming more of a mentor to them and it is an interesting and fun place to be. Let me explain a few things in this post that might resonate with you.
My oldest son loves sports and is a terrific writer. He is one year away from graduation at Vanderbilt and is really starting to come into his own. The last three years have had a few rough spots, but he has come this and learned a lot of life lessons, as have we. We have the opportunity to talk about a variety of topics now and our conversations are as much man to man as they are father to son. He has started to listen to my advice, occasionally, and he has become more rationale and logical in his approach. Knowing that I am originally an engineer will help you understand my perspective here.
My youngest son is in his first year of college at Auburn. His freshman year has been in start contrast to his brother’s freshman year at Vandy. Auburn has been an easy transition for this son and he seems to be very happy with everything going on there. As his father it is no surprise because he is the son who rarely complains. I can remember that the only time he really complained when he was young we found he had pneumonia. Other than that everything was always “ok”. One of my former career stops in the engineering services industry helped me to guide him to his interest in construction and he is well suited for his degree pursuit in Building Sciences.
My work allows me the ability to work with many people from many backgrounds to help them connect with career opportunities or to help them develop their leadership skills. Being able to do this with my own two sons is such a blessing and a dream come true. They are both so gifted in what they can do and my wife and I are truly thankful for their ability to learn and grow.
My wish to you is to find a way to do the same with your own children, or to someone else who is in a formative state in their career. There are so many gifted young people out there and they are starving for attention and advice. Be there for them-you’ll never regret your choice!
